Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2786679 Registered with Ofsted: 08/07/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder creates a very warm and nurturing environment in which children thrive. The warm and trusting relationships between children and the childminder are evident in all that they do. Children clearly see her home as 'their place'. They move confidently around her home and happily initiate conversations with her. Children know what is expected of them and why. For example, they know the routines for handwashing before meals and need very little help in doing so. This is because the childminder has taught them the skills they need and ensures that there is consistency to the routines of each day.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder is a superb role model for children. She is kind, calm, clear and consistent in her interactions. She establishes an environment where kindness and consideration towards others are valued and promoted. As a result, children behave very well for their age. Slightly older children are very understanding of younger children who have recently started at the provision. They include them in their play and show real empathy when these children are a little unsettled and need a bit more reassurance from the childminder.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder has clear expectations for attendance and impresses on parents the need to inform her promptly if children are not going to attend on any given day. She also recognises that sometimes unforeseen circumstances can make it more difficult for parents to drop off and collect children at their usual times. If this is the case, she offers parents the flexibility they need to ensure that children can still spend the day at the provision and therefore benefit from what she can offer in relation to care and learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder is highly effective at making all children feel welcome right from the start. When children are due to start in her care, she works with parents to gain a detailed understanding of children's needs and personalities. This helps her to support children to settle and feel welcome. Babies and children clearly see her as 'their person'. They look to her for reassurance or comfort when needed. She fully understands that for children to be ready to learn they must first feel safe and secure. With this in mind, when children first start in her care she focuses on giving them time to explore her home at their own pace. This approach works well, with children who are new to her care carefully observing her and other children and then becoming increasingly confident to join in, smiling and laughing as they do.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder plans as carefully for children's care needs as their learning needs. She diligently reviews her policies and practices to ensure that she continues to offer care of the highest standard. For example, she reviews her safe sleeping procedures to ensure that she is meeting all requirements and that children's safety at the these times is prioritised. She ensures that food is prepared safely and that she is supporting parents through the weaning process.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder effectively helps children to develop an understanding of their own personal safety, including online safety, through planned activities, stories, routines and the sharing of information with parents.

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Expected standard

All children, including those who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are extremely settled, safe and happy. They thrive in the childminder's nurturing care.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder builds a very clear picture of each child's emerging needs. She promptly and accurately identifies any special educational needs and/or disabilities in children through observations, assessments and highly effective partnership working with parents and carers. Through careful planning and targeted teaching, she closes gaps in children's skills and knowledge and children promptly catch up with their peers. For example, through targeted support, children rapidly learn new words and become confident communicators. Through close working with parents and adapting routines and activities, children become increasingly independent in doing things for themselves. This, in turn, builds their self- esteem and confidence to join in fully with the different activities and learning experiences that the childminder offers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder ensures that all children feel equally welcome and included. For example, for children who speak English as an additional language, she ensures that they hear phrases in their home language, alongside English, to help them settle and join in confidently. She carefully considers all children's age and stage of development when planning activities so that all children can join in and learn together. For example, she fully considers each child's current needs and abilities when planning the learning environment and activities. As a result, all children develop a sense of belonging and learn very well alongside each other.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Where applicable, the childminder reaches out to other professionals to support children and their families. She has an accurate understanding of additional funding that may be available and is well placed to support parents to access this, should the need to do so arise. She makes adaptations, large and small, to reduce barriers to learning. For example, she adapts the hours that children attend to meet the needs of families. This helps to ensure that children can continue to attend, even when family circumstances could make it challenging for families.

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Achievement Expected standard

Typically, children develop a secure set of skills and knowledge in preparation for the next stage in their learning. This includes children who may face barriers to their learning. The quality of the childminder's teaching and her encouraging manner mean that children form a positive view of learning and become increasingly confident to join in and 'have a go'. For example, during mealtimes and other routines, children learn to feed themselves. They make healthy and informed choices about the food they eat and understand the importance of cleaning their teeth. They learn to meet their own personal care needs. For example, they learn to manage their own toileting and handwashing. Children learn to express their needs and opinions. They develop a love of books and singing. Children show great delight in joining the childminder for story and singing time. They carefully look at the pictures in books and ask questions that help them to understand

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Achievement Expected standard

how stories are structured. They confidently join in with the words and actions to favourite songs and can explain which songs they especially like and why.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder plans and delivers a broad, focused and interesting curriculum that is tailored to the needs and interests of children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She is very skilled and effective at supporting children's developing language skills, and plans precisely for this aspect of learning. For example, she identifies the specific vocabulary she will introduce to children during planned activities and routines. She reads and sings regularly with all children, minimising distractions so that children can listen and join in well.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder observes children's interests and plans how she can use these to plan meaningful learning opportunities. For example, she plans activities that supports children's enthusiasm for movement to build specific physical skills. She provides activities, such as balancing and controlling different parts of their bodies. The childminder clearly identifies what children need to learn next across the different areas of learning. For example, she ensures that children are confident to recite numbers accurately before she begins to teach them how to apply this knowledge and solve simple mathematical problems.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, the childminder plans well for children's individual learning needs. However, occasionally, activities are too complicated. At these times, teaching and learning is a little less effective. For example, sometimes, the childminder provides children with so many different resources during planned activities that the specific focus for the activity is lost. Although children continue to have fun, teaching is a little effective in helping children learn what they most need to learn next.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has established highly effective provision since registration. She has established policies and procedures that help her to meet children's needs, keep children safe and ensure that they develop a broad range of skills and knowledge in preparation for their future learning. She regularly reviews what she does and identifies training opportunities that further enhance her skills and enable her to continue to meet children's individual needs. For example, she has undertaken training to enable her to further improve her support for children's language development. The impact of this is seen in how well she delivers this aspect of the curriculum.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnership working is a strength of the childminder's practice. The relationships that she builds with parents and carers are meaningful and effective. Right from the start, she establishes meaningful lines of communication with parents. This helps parents to understand what their children are learning with her and she knows about any changes or progress at home. This enables all to work together in the best interests of each child. She reaches out to nurseries or pre-schools that children also attend so that information can be shared. This supports children to receive continuity to their care and education that helps them to thrive and feel safe.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder reflects on her practice and makes ongoing improvements. She assesses children's progress and identifies specific next steps in their learning. However, she is not quite as precise in regard to identifying when some activities are not fully effective in delivering the planned learning intent. As a result, there remain a few inconsistencies in the quality of the delivery of the curriculum.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children thoroughly enjoy their learning. For example, they are excited to listen to the childminder read. They enthusiastically choose which songs to sing. They enter into conversations with each other and show pride in what they have learned to do. For example, children are proud that they can feed themselves and are learning to manage their own personal care needs. They learn to recite numbers accurately and to understand mathematical concepts, such as 'big and small' and 'heavy and light'. They learn to move their bodies in different ways and to move safely around the space. Children receive all the extra or focused support they may need to learn well, and close any gaps that may have emerged in their learning. Over time, they develop the skills they need to manage a successful move to school or nursery.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children feel safe, valued and welcome in the childminder's home. They thoroughly enjoy the company of each other and the childminder. They move about confidently, making choices about what they would like to. They benefit from a highly inclusive environment. For example, children who are new to the provision receive all the cuddles and reassurance they need to settle well. They develop the confidence to explore and learn alongside their peers.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children learn to be kind and considerate. They show empathy towards each other and enjoy playing games together. For example, children make up imaginative games and ask their friends to join in. They laugh and squeal with delight as they play hiding games. They cooperate with the well-established routines, gently reminding each other of what they need to do before and after meals or before nap times.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

The childminder promotes the value of prompt and regular attendance, while offering the flexibility that families need to meet their specific childcare needs.

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Next steps

The childminder should enhance the delivery of some adult-led learning experiences, to enable children to focus closely on the main learning intent. The childminder should strengthen her evaluation and precisely identify where she can make further improvements to enhance children's experiences further still.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, parents and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Our grades explained

registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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